Picnics and Sunshine
by DreamingCerulean
Summary: Percy and Annabeth had always been busy people, but they always made time for each other. A short, fluffy one-shot.


**A/N: Hello everyone! Here's another one-shot.**

 **Enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians.**

Percy ran up the side of the hill, picnic basket banging awkwardly against his legs. A rolled up blanket was tucked under his arm, threatening to fall out as he ran. A light blue sky stretched out above him, and a few wispy clouds hung near the horizon. In front of him, there was a small hill with tall grass waving in the wind, and beyond that, the blue ocean. The hum of the nearby power source did nothing to calm Percy's excitement, but at this point he wasn't really sure that anything could.

Panting slightly, he reached the top of the hill. For a quick moment, he gazed out at the view, watching the ocean sparkle lightly in the bright sunlight.

He turned his back on the water, and spread out the blanket on the ground. He opened up the picnic basket and set out all of the food.

Granted, he was the only one here to eat all of this, but he was a growing boy, goddammit. And he couldn't deny himself all this junk food on a special day like this. Besides, he could work it off in training tomorrow.

He sat down and leaned back on his palms, taking a deep breath. Everything was finally ready. A week's worth of planning and waiting and now it was finally going to happen. It was the moment he had been dreaming of for days.

Right on time, the Iris Message appeared in front of him. Annabeth smiled back at him and waved slightly.

"Hey Seaweed Brain," She said, tone light and teasing. She was sitting at a desk in her dorm room, papers strewn about the desk and floor.

Percy beamed at her. "Hey Wise Girl," He said. "Long time no see, huh?"

She let out a small laugh, before noticing the background. She stared for a moment, colors dancing in her eyes. "You really went all out. When you said picnic I figured we were just going to be eating together or something." She motioned towards a bowl of ramen that she had in front of her. "Not that I'm complaining or anything. That view is amazing," She said.

He nodded, following her gaze towards the water. There were a couple of moments of silence before Percy turned back to her. He could see that view anyday, and he would much rather see Annabeth. "How's Greece treating ya," He asked, grabbing a slice of pizza and nibbling on the edge. "Are you blowing everyone there away with you smarticle particles?"

She snorted, shaking her head slightly. "You did not just say that." She exhaled lightly, like she couldn't believe him. "But it's really nice here. The professors sometimes take us out to the ruins to study the architecture. There haven't been as many monster attacks as I expected, but that's never a problem."

Percy grinned. "That's good to hear. I was worried I would have to come over there, and I really don't feel like doing anything."

Annabeth smirked. "Let me know when you actually plan on doing something productive. I'll call the president and let him know that the end of the world is approaching."

"Hey!"

Annabeth continued, still smiling. "How's camp doing?" She asked.

"It's alright," Percy said. "Nothing bad has happened so far. We got a couple of new campers a few days ago. One from Demeter and two from Hephaestus. The Hephaestus kids are twins, and they've got a mean pranking streak. The Stolls have taken them under their wing. You might wanna watch out when you get back."

"Duly noted," Annabeth said. "Anything from the others?"

"Not really," Percy said. "Leo went over to the Roman Camp a few days ago to do some repairs on stuff. I'm not sure exactly what but Leo looked excited to go. You should have seen him. He couldn't stop bouncing around."

"That's good," She said.

They talked for a little while longer, catching up on each other's lives, before lapsing into a comfortable silence. Percy felt a small weight lift off of his shoulders and let himself relax, feeling more at peace now than at any time in the last week.

He wished that Annabeth could be here in person, but this time away from her only made him more grateful that he knew someone as great as her. He couldn't wait for her to come back. Two months had never seemed so far away.

Percy shifted a little on the blanket, moving to the side so that Annabeth could watch the approaching sunset. The colors of the sky blurred together, forming a beautiful display of reds, oranges, and purples. The light reflected off of the clouds, turning the scene into something that could have been in a painting.

Percy quietly sent a thank you up to Olympus. If the gods were making the sunset this amazing, then he was grateful. If not, and this was just coincidence, then he didn't mind thanking them for granting the couple a few moments of peace together.

It was only after the sun had dropped below the horizon when Annabeth spoke again.

"You should probably get going," She said. Her voice, although soft, had a tiny tinge of regret. "It's getting really late here, and you probably need to head back to camp soon."

Percy understood. He didn't want to leave yet either, but he knew their time was up for now. "Yeah," He said, trailing off. "What do you want to do next time?" He asked.

Annabeth pursed her lips, thinking. "Hmm," She said. "I'm thinking movie night."

Percy lifted a hand to his heart. "Disney?" He asked, pouting his lip and widening his eyes.

Annabeth gave him a cold, hard stare. "Don't use those eyes on me," She said. "But if you want, I'll let you pick one movie."

"Yes!" Percy said, pumping a fist. "Little Mermaid, here we come!"

Annabeth watched him, eyes sparkling. "I'll see you next week," She said. "Love you!"

"Love you too," Percy said. "Stay safe."

Annabeth blew a kiss at him, and the mist disappeared.

 **A/N: Thanks for reading, and please review!**

 **~DreamingCerulean**

 **Published: December 2nd, 2018**


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